Title 2, The CongressRelease 119-102
§4721 Referral of Ethics Violations by Senate Ethics Committee to Government Accountability Office for Investigation
Title 2 › CHAPTER 47 — CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS › SUBCHAPTER III — SENATE › § 4721
Summary
If the Senate Ethics Committee thinks there is good reason to believe a Senator, a Senate officer, or a Senate employee may have broken ethics rules, it can ask the Government Accountability Office’s Office of Special Investigations to look into it. That Office must promptly investigate and follow the committee’s instructions.
Full Legal Text
Title 2, §4721
The Congress, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
If the Committee on Ethics of the Senate determines that there is a reasonable basis to believe that a Member, officer, or employee of the Senate may have committed an ethics violation, the committee may request the Office of Special Investigations of the Government Accountability Office to conduct factfinding and an investigation into the matter. The Office of Special Investigations shall promptly investigate the matter as directed by the committee.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Codification Section was formerly classified to section 72a–1g of this title prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.
Amendments
2004—Pub. L. 108–271 substituted “Government Accountability Office” for “General Accounting Office” in section catchline and text.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
2 U.S.C. § 4721
Title 2, The Congress
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102